Sunday, December 01, 2013

Bees could hold the key to preventing HIV transmission.
Researchers have discovered that bee venom kills the virus while leaving body
cells unharmed, which could lead to an anti-HIV vaginal gel and other
treatments.

Scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine
in St. Louis found that melittin, a toxin found in bee venom, physically
destroys the HIV virus, a breakthrough that could potentially lead to drugs
that are immune to HIV resistance. The study was published Thursday in the
journal Antiviral Therapy.

"Our hope is that in places where HIV is running
rampant, people could use this as a preventative measure to stop the initial
infection," Joshua Hood, one of the authors of the study, said in a
statement.

The researchers attached melittin to nanoparticles that are
physically smaller than HIV, which is smaller than body cells. The toxin rips
holes in the virus' outer layer, destroying it, but the particles aren't large
enough to damage body cells…